Germany to Lease Israeli Drones Instead of Buying US Predators

The Jerusalem Post reports: German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday announced plans for the army to lease Israeli Heron TP drones from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) rather than buy Predator B drones from US defense contractor General Atomics.

advertisement

General Inspector Volker Wieker, head of the army, favors the Israeli drones which like the Predator B can be armed, government sources said, adding Germany planned to lease between three and five drones from 2018.

The unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are to be stationed in Israel and will cost about 580 million euros.